There Goes The World
by A Nicole That Morphs
Summary: GW fic about a mission that goes wrong, with a small love story complication thrown in to spice things up. (PG13 in later chapters)
1. Prelude

There Goes The World  
  
1 Author's Note: I don't own the Gundam Wing characters. You know the drill.  
  
He rose blearily from the bed as sunlight spilled into the room through the half-shaded windows. He yawned, rubbed sleep out of his eyes, and made towards the door. He didn't bother to change out of his pajamas before going to get breakfast. He opened the door, and the sunlight leaked out of the room, illuminating the dust floating in the air. Quatre paused for a moment, staring at the hovering dust as it danced and reveled in the sunlight. To the insightful boy, it almost appeared like the dust was alive, that each particle had its own mind, that each one was free to decide hoe it moved. It seemed silly, but the idea still captivated him. He wished he could be free like his visionary dust, but, like real, dust, he was merely pushed around by another force.  
  
Even though the war had ended nearly two years ago, technically Quatre was still 'enlisted' as a Gundam Pilot. His father had warned him that it was a lifetime job, but he hadn't listened. He hadn't really cared, either. But now, instead of being able to excel in life, instead of being able to develop potential, he was stuck controlling petty rebel arguments. He no longer had Sandrock Kai, but that didn't eliminate him from stealth work. Apparently the other ex-Gundam pilots thought he was perfect for stealth. He came from an influential family, was a shy, quiet boy, and wasn't aggressive in the least. And those were only the reasons the others told him for working stealth. Sometimes, Quatre was positive that the others considered him the most expendable of the group. They would never, ever tell him that, probably because they wouldn't like the guilty feeling of admitting it, but he could read it in their eyes. That was how he gleaned most his information from people nowadays. As a pilot he had become extraordinary at reading body language, and not that was the only way he ever learned the truth.  
  
He thought about this over breakfast, and it depressed him quite a bit. The only time he ever thought about these things, thought, was when a mission was looming on the horizon. There was no official statement of a mission, but by watching the news Quatre knew there was one coming soon. He couldn't help the adrenaline-boosted excitement he felt with the promise of a mission, However, he felt dread as well. Inevitably, he would be sent on another stealth mission with no promise of rescue should he get caught. He was growing tired of all this. At 18 years old, he felt he had dedicated enough of his life to being a Gundam pilot. He wanted to go to college; he wanted to become something more than a faceless warrior. But he knew, somehow, that would never happen. He, and the rest of the pilots, were destined to remain identityless, practically nonexistent. It was an idea that almost drove Quatre crazy with sorrow. He knew they all had potential to become more than what they were. But, he also knew that none of them would ever amount to more than what they were now. Each one of them had given up something important to become what they were; they each gave up something they could never get back.  
  
He was beginning to wish he hadn't. Sometimes, he believed he wasn't the only one.  
  
He got up from the chair, only partially aware that he had cooked and eaten breakfast, and made his way back upstairs. He had nothing important to do today, but he didn't want to lounge around in his pajamas. If he got dressed, at least he'd be ready if something came up. He couldn't help but stare at the dust once more as he reached his bedroom door, but he decided not to dwell on it this time. He opened the door to his room, which was now flooded with sunlight, and he entered. As he dressed (khaki shorts, white T- shirt and a blue windbreaker) he decided to go for a walk. It was a beautiful spring day out, and he certainly didn't want to waste it sitting around the house. As soon as his sneakers were tied, he grabbed his keys and headed outside, sure to lock the door behind him. For some reason people seemed compelled to break into his house, like he kept the Winner fortune in his mattress or something. Locking the door usually never stopped them, but it gave the blonde a little bit of security. Ever since the war had ended, certain places both on Earth and in space had deteriorated. Quatre loved the little countryside town he lived in on in Earth, but it seemed that all the rebels, with no 'society' to join, had resorted to theft and mugging, among other things. Luckily, just because Quatre was passive didn't mean he didn't know how to defend himself. Hanging around Heero, Trowa, Duo, and Wufei for almost a solid year certainly taught him some good defense strategies.  
  
He was on guard as he walked, subtly looking for any suspicious persons. But the streets were basically deserted, and exactly as Quatre liked them. At this time of morning, when the sun was just spreading its rays over the small town, it gave the illusion of a storybook place where everyone got along great and nothing bad ever happened. In a few hours that image would change as commuters drove their cars through the town as they headed for the city, but right now everything was peaceful. He wandered around aimlessly for a while, but content. He had no place to rush off to, nothing to occupy himself with, yet he wasn't bored. He let the sun warm him and the birds sing to him. He let the world go on around him as he slowly let his mind wonder. He thought about nothing in particular, all of his depressing thoughts seemed to have evaporated in the sunlight. As he wandered, in both body and mind, he made his way towards a small café in the town square. It was one of his favorite places to go, a place where the hoodlums and businessmen never entered. The small café, Quatre assumed, was invisible to them. It was only filled with friendly townspeople, always willing to lend each other a hand. Quatre could escape the town when everyone else came out and he could enter the other world inside the café, where the ideals of a storybook became a lifestyle. He walked into the nearly empty café and took a seat at a table by the window, so he could watch the town awaken. It didn't take him that long, or at least it didn't feel like it was too long before cars started to drift lazily down the street and people began to wander towards the shops and stores.  
  
He became so engulfed in the scene that he didn't notice the person who sat down at the table in the seat across from his nearly a half-hour after he had first entered the café.  
  
"You're a hard person to find, Quatre." The blonde's attention snapped away from the window as his eyes fell on the person sitting across from him.  
  
"Duo!" Quatre exclaimed, and although his voice was filled with surprise at seeing his friend, he also knew why Duo was there. There was only one reason any of the other pilots ever visited one another, and that was for a mission. Usually they never had any contact so that no one got wise to them, especially Duo, who had been captured and televised during the war. When Quatre didn't see the other pilots, he never really saw anyone who were 'friends'. He constantly had to see business associates and occasionally saw his sisters, but his only friends were the Gundam pilots, and he almost never saw them.  
  
"The one and only," Duo replied with a grin. "Look, Quatre, have you been watching the news?" Duo was never really serious, but he looked the closest to it that Quatre had ever seen him.  
  
"Yeah. We've got a mission, haven't we?" Quatre could already guess what it was. One of the L2 colonies had cut contact with Earth and was slowly withdrawing relations with other clusters as well. Their representatives on Earth didn't know anything, and people feared a rebel takeover.  
  
By recalling this information, Quatre remembered that he had a business meeting in L2 tomorrow. He had made that appointment so long ago he had forgotten, although if he hadn't remembered Rashid would've reminded him. He knew right away that Duo was going to ask him to pay a visit to the estranged colony.  
  
"Yeah, Damn L2 colony…we've got more information than the media, though. As far as we can tell, rebels are slowly taking control, building up an army of – get this – junk pieces from old mobile suits.  
  
"Which colony is it?"  
  
"L205. Look, Q, we know you've got a business meeting tomorrow in L201. We've wired you a flight to L205 before you head back to Earth. We need you to tell us what's going on, from the inside." Quatre was suddenly compelled to ask Duo if he too felt like he was wasting his life away being a Gundam pilot, but instead he just nodded.  
  
"Okay, I'll do it. Conditions the same as last time?"  
  
"Afraid so."  
  
That meant no promise of rescue and no contact other than the daily reports. Also, it meant that his risk may be in vain. If, when he returned with his information, the other pilots decided that the mission wasn't suited for them, it meant his risk had been pointless. He wanted to accuse Duo and the others of not caring, of purposely putting him in danger, but he knew that wasn't true.  
  
"Sorry, Quatre, but we simply can't change the conditions. If you do get caught, it'd be too risky for even one of us to go and try to rescue you. Just be careful, like you have been, alright?" Quatre nodded, and hesitated before asking his next question, his pale hands fidgeting with his empty teacup.  
  
"How long with I be–-"  
  
"No longer than two hours, or else they'll get suspicious. They keep a close watch on people who go into that colony."  
  
'They,' Quatre thought. Duo almost sounded positive that there were hostile forces on L205. If that was the case, then why did Quatre have to go in to confirm? He felt they should send someone more aggressive.  
  
"Alright. You can tell the others I'll do it." Quatre agreed, despite his better judgment. 


	2. The beginning of many things

There Goes the World: Chapter 2: _The beginning of many things_

Disclaimer: Same as before. I don't own the characters, etc.

Duo left shortly after Quatre agreed, and the blonde headed home to pack for the business trip. There wasn't much to pack, but no matter how short the trip, he always packed anyway, just in case he got sidetracked or stuck. He packed an extra change of clothes, reading material, toothbrush, some paperwork he might need for the conference, and last but not least, his handgun. He kind of hated packing it, he was always worried that it would somehow give him away as a Gundam pilot, but he required it for protection.

Rashid entered the room just as Quatre dropped the gun into his bag.

"Quatre-sama, Duo came by before. Did he find you at the café?"

"Yeah, Rashid," Quatre sighed, trying not to sound too disappointed. He knew Rashid would see right through him, but he also knew that Rashid wouldn't ask questions. "Thank you for telling him where I was."

"It was no problem. I thought you might like to see him again."

"Yeah, it was nice. Look, Rashid, in the coming weeks, I think I'll be spending a lot of time in space. Could you…go to Saudi Arabia and get the Maganac Corps. together, just in case?" Rashid nodded, and then approached the window and opened it. Quatre hated when he did that, it made the blonde feel as though Rashid was his maid. The dignified warrior had insisted on following him to this rather remote location, all because Rashid knew Quatre got lonely every once in a while.

"Will you be eating dinner here tonight?"

"Yes, I think I will." _After all, I may not see home for a while after tomorrow,_ Quatre added gloomily.

Rashid left the room then, and in what seemed like no time, dinner had been prepared. Quatre had helped, and even though a couple of hours had passed between Quatre returning from the café and dinner, he still didn't know where the time had gone. He did know why the time had gone so quickly, though. While he and Rashid had prepared dinner, they had talked about the old missions Quatre used to go on, the missions with real purpose. They had soon trailed off onto matters concerning the other Gundam pilots, and one matter in particular had passed their time.

Trowa Barton.

Quatre fondly remembered when he used to have a crush on Trowa, back when both of them had been no older than 16. AS the blonde sat after dinner, he smiled, almost laughing, and remembered how much he had 'loved' Trowa. In his memory it seemed almost comical, but in the past it had been very real to him. He didn't know if he was quite over the crush; he hadn't seen Trowa in such a long time. But he knew he had grown out of it, in a sense. If he still felt anything towards Trowa, he knew the feelings would not manifest as some boyhood crush. They were both nearly in their twenties now; Quatre believed that they could be more mature about their feelings.

As twilight descended gracefully upon the world around him, he took out his old violin. It had undergone unbelievable usage since the last time any of the Gundam pilots had seen it. The glossy polish on the wood had long since started to wear off, the neck of the instrument seemed almost ready to break the blonde had worn it down so much. But this way it had a familiar feel to it, and the music that came from it was as sweet as ever. The violin was an old friend to Quatre, a reliable, dependable old companion. Even if the neck did break someday, he didn't believe he would ever get rid of it. He played whatever came to mind, the sound floating dreamily on the semi-humid air like a childhood memory of summer, and Quatre couldn't help but close his eyes and imagine the sweet sounds of his violin gently wooing the children of the town to sleep.

He also couldn't help but wonder what the Hell he was doing fighting again. This thought came on the heels of the image of the town falling asleep to his music, and it turned the sound bitter. He was such a pacifist, why was he going on another stealth mission? He was a sympathetic, passive, son of a businessman. What was he doing quelching rebel uprisings? He knew that part of the reason he did it was because he didn't want to be the victim, and he wanted to prove to others that 'people like him' didn't always end up as victims. But he was a victim. The other pilots exploited him to no end; they were the obstacles to achieving his goal. No matter what he did or where he went, someone took advantage of him. It used to depress him to know that, but he'd become more mature now. Now, he took a firmer hold in controlling his life and what happened in it. Yet, he pondered as he played, he had given in to Duo without any argument at all.

He had to stop playing at this point, the music sounding like nails on a blackboard to him. He put the violin down and headed up to his room, unable to play over the thoughts in his head. He threw himself on his bed, and fell asleep before any thought could corrupt his dreams.

His alarm cut through the silent house, but it was a moment before he rolled out of bed, stretching and yawning. He walked across the hall and into the bathroom, where he shed his clothes and hopped in the shower. The feel of the water woke him up slowly; he almost felt like he had a revelation as the water slowly kicked his mind into gear. He remembered Duo coming to visit yesterday, and he remembered his stealth mission. As he shampooed his hair, he couldn't help but anticipate his meeting with the other pilots. It had been such a long time since they had all been together; it would almost be like a class reunion.

He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist as he took another one to his hair. After he dried off and clothed himself, he picked up his suitcase and headed out.

He drove himself to the spaceport, parked, checked-in, and waited. He couldn't stop his mind from wandering as he stared blankly at his reading material. He attempted to focus upon the words on the page, but hr soon found himself thinking about the other pilots again. Usually they sent missions via e-mail. Why had Duo delivered the message in person this time?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You told him?" Trowa asked in his tiring monotone. Duo clicked away at the keyboard a few minutes before answering. The room was dark save for the light from the computer screen, and Duo's eyes were straining. But Trowa insisted upon it, since this was their L205 base. It had taken them forever to discover and abandoned building that was still in good shape, and they were careful to use an outside connection for the computer. They had discovered that some of the offices (the abandoned building had been a business center at one point) still had electricity. Duo chose a room with working lights, only to have realized, later on, that they couldn't use the lights without being noticed. Now the available electricity only acted as temptation, taunting him from someplace he couldn't reach.

Duo shoved away from the computer, both table and chair almost tipping, and swiveled to face Trowa.

"I told him, alright. And he agreed. His flight to L201 just boarded and is due for takeoff from module 10 in twenty minutes." Trowa didn't react to any of this, and Duo stared at him. "He—"

"Shh. I know." Trowa silenced Duo, knowing what he planned to say. Quatre had been reluctant, he didn't seem as devoted as he used to be. Trowa didn't care. He simply hoped all those moral and personal issues Quatre had wouldn't put the blonde in more danger than he was in already. Trowa hadn't seen Quatre in just under a year. Of course, the blonde hadn't seen Trowa in a lot longer than that; Trowa liked to keep his visits short and distant. He hoped Quatre would come back soon, so they could meet face-to-face again.

Heero knocked and entered without waiting for a reply. Trowa and Duo looked at him and then they turned back to the computer.

"They're beginning to get suspicious. We should leave." Neither Trowa nor Duo argued. Duo began typing once again, stifling a yawn, and had soon reserved seats for a flight leaving ten minutes before Quatre's.

"We're outta here in four and a half hours."

Heero looked like he was preparing a protest to the amount of time, but he knew they'd need to be here in case Quatre's confirmation mission went wrong. _Poor Quatre,_ Duo thought, _He always thinks he's alone on these missions, never realizing that we're his guardian angels, always ready to save him from harm._

Trowa stood up.

"That's fine. It gives us enough time to cover our tracks." He said, and walked out of the room. Heero sat down in the vacant seat without a word.

"Quatre's going to be heartbroken. Again." Duo said, although he hated talking about it.

"I'm sure he's gotten over it." Heero replied, emotionless.

"Doesn't it make you sad when he cries, Heero? Don't you just want to comfort him and wipe away his tears?" Duo regretted speaking those words as soon as they filled the silence and left a more painful silence in their wake.

"Trowa does that in his own way." Heero stood up and left as well. Duo stared after him, tempted to follow him and tell him to prove it. How did Heero know what Trowa was up to? Duo felt that Trowa only toyed with Quatre's emotions; he never confirmed or denied them. It almost made Duo hateful, but he just chuckled and turned back to the computer. What was he getting so upset about? Let Trowa show his emotion whatever way he pleased, and let Quatre deal with it the best way he could.

He shut down the computer and folded the tiny laptop as he packed everything up. All the extraneous objects stayed, such as wires and power strips, but all the papers came with him in his trusty manila folder. He headed out the door, and was surprised to see Wufei, standing there, intense onyx eyes on Duo's face.

"I know what you're planning to do, Duo." He muttered. Duo relaxed and smiled, waving a hand in dismissal.

"Yeah, I'm planning to cover my tracks." Wufei shook his head.

"No, I mean with Quatre. You'll only cause trouble if you—" Wufei stopped as Duo started walking away. The brunette could feel his heart pounding in his chest, hoping Wufei would stop talking. Did Wufei really think Duo didn't realize the possible consequences of his prepared action?

"Don't walk away from me, Maxwell! I give up on you pilots, you're hopeless! I'm not participating in this love-triangle of a mission you've concocted, you fool! You've got no sense of justice!" Duo stopped and spun around, prepared to confront Wufei and ask him what he meant by 'love-triangle of a mission'. Duo couldn't help it that people didn't want to live in peace with one another!

"What love-triangle are—"

Wufei was gone.

"Damn moody Chinese people…" Duo grumbled as he turned and walked away.


	3. Conspiracies and Deterioration

There Goes the World: Chapter 3: _Conspiracies and Deterioration_

Author's note: Same as the first chapter and it will be the same for the duration of this story.

Quatre's flight to L201 had been smooth and uneventful. Unfortunately, so had his meeting. The representatives of 01 feared that 05 would attempt to take control of one of the Winner resource meteors, and although they calmed when Quatre assured them security was tight enough to prevent that, he could not convince them to move on to more important matters. He never understood how Relena managed to get people to listen, but he often wished he could do what she did. He felt like he never had any real authority, that the clients only listened to him because he was a 'war orphan'. Although, he had to admit that oftentimes they took his ideas into consideration, which was really all he could hope for in the end. Still he wished people—maybe not everyone, but someone somewhere—loved him as Relena was loved. Was the life of a Gundam Pilot really destined to be cold and lonely? Quatre didn't think it was destiny so much as it was choice for the others. But he didn't want to choose their way. He desired a life with love and warmth and purpose. But then he hated himself for not loving what he had. After all, it had been his choice to join the war with Sandrock despite his father's warnings. No one had forced him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Duo was there when Quatre's flight landed on 05. But the blonde didn't know, or at least didn't show he knew. Duo had disguised himself well; sitting in a chair in the next module's waiting area, wearing a janitor's jumpsuit and a hat, with his long mane wrapped up and hidden under it. As he spotted the blonde, hr faked a cough, bringing his hand up to his mouth.

"Quatre's here," he muttered. He stood up, but instead of following Quatre, he walked to the bathroom. It was up to the others to keep tabs on him now. He knew Trowa was somewhere in the terminal, and no matter how much Trowa pretended not to care, Duo knew he would watch after Quatre. Of course, they'd all need to stick close to the blonde, since he was a prominent figure. And those controlling 05 would surely put up the red flags once they noticed his arrival. He took one more look around the terminal, looking for any suspicious characters, but he could spot any, and so turned his back to the mass of people and entered the bathroom. He hoped someone kept an eye on Quatre, because Duo would never forgive himself if something happened to the blonde. In Duo's opinion, Quatre had suffered enough. However, Duo had been the only one to voice any objection to Quatre being the one working stealth on this mission. The Winner name was one of recognition no matter where it was said, and since Mr. Winner had died during the war, Quatre had become somewhat of a tragic celebrity. Everyone knew his face; it was that familiarity that made it difficult for the blonde to work stealth on any mission. Yet, for reasons Duo barely understood or agreed with, Quatre always ended up doing the 'undercover' work when, next to Duo, he was the most unacceptable of all the Gundam pilots for that type of job. Sometimes Duo believed, and mentally accused, Heero and Trowa (and sometimes Wufei) of purposely putting Quatre in harm's way. He didn't know what they tried to accomplish by putting Quatre through such risks, but Duo hoped they knew what they were doing. Because he sure didn't.

He slipped off the janitor's uniform easily enough in one of the stalls, and then opened the duffel bag he had placed there earlier with a disguise to get him out.

"What the-?" He muttered as he pulled out a red dress and heels. Apparently Heero or Trowa had switched disguises without Duo noticing.

"Damn you! I'll get you for this, Heero!" Duo called to the empty bathroom, knowing Heero just wanted to get a kick out of him crossdressing. He begrudgingly changed into the disguise, grateful for coed bathrooms.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Quatre exited the spaceport and squinted in the artificial sunlight that filled L205. Immediately he felt like someone was watching his every move. His first instinct told him to turn around and get lost in the crowded spaceport, but he knew he couldn't do that. If he did, it would only have the affect of him appearing more suspicious to the people who supposedly controlled 05. With his mission in mind, he started down the street. Thankfully, nearly every colony was set up the same, with the official government building in the center of the 'city'. So, Quatre had very little trouble looking inconspicuous. However, as he approached, he felt a strange amount of fear wrap its cold steel fist around his stomach. The closer he got to the center of the city, the fewer people there seemed to be. All the housing developments seemed almost dank; unused and decrepit. But still the blonde walked purposefully, trying not to look intimidated or frightened. He couldn't help but notice that the artificial sunlight seemed to stop before it hit the top of the houses, casting everything in an eerie light.

"Oh, stop it. You're being paranoid and scaring yourself." He whispered, laughing a little. The depressing atmosphere threatened to crash in on Quatre's determined mind; it threatened to squeeze his comfort right out of him. _Is this Hell?_ he thought as he turned down a side street. Every horrible event that had ever occurred in his life now seemed to come back to him, one glaring mistake or tragedy after another. He tried not to focus on them, and slowly they melted away into the present task, but they left him with a feeling that some of his sanity had been lost in the war.

"Quatre Raberba Winner, is that you?" Quatre spun around at the sound of his name.

"Dorothy Catalonia?" He said, unable to hide his utter shock. She nodded and approached him, smiling. Quatre smiled back, albeit wary. Had she been following him all this time? He looked around and was once again met with a surprise. The streets were not even close to empty, as he had seen them just moments before. Why didn't his memory seem to match reality? Hadn't he bee the only one on the streets just minutes ago?

"I was wondering when I'd see you again," she said, pausing for a moment to consider the confused look upon Quatre's face. "Are you alright?"

"Me? Oh, I'm fine. Just daydreaming." He said with a smile. "Why don't you walk with me?" She accepted, and the two of them started forward once again. "How have you been, Dorothy?" Despite his polite attitude, he remained apprehensive.

"What brings you to L205, Quatre?" She asked, and the blonde's red flags went up. For some reason, he had a feeling that Dorothy was involved in whatever was going wrong on the colony.

"Business if L205 wants to sever ties to everything else, I'll need to come up with an agreement concerning the use of my resource satellite." Now he understood the reason why the other pilots always made him perform the stealth missions.

"Ah. You've certainly matured, Quatre. But I think it would be best if you headed home as soon as possible once your business is done here. And then I'd advise you to forget about 05 completely." Quatre stopped in his tracks. Well, now there was no doubt that she certainly had something up her sleeve. "If you'll excuse me, Quatre, I've got an appointment." She departed, knowing the blonde was lying through his teeth.

Quatre watched silently as she walked off in the direction they had been coming from.


End file.
